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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
WHEN he stepped into the National Sports Stadium last weekend, Highlanders coach expected to be greeted by a sea of fans clad in black and white but to his disappointment he found the biggest football stadium in Zimbabwe almost empty.

Though Highlanders did their best to paint Harare black and white, the collective numbers of attendance were not impressive, considering that they were clashing against Dynamos.

The reverse fixture in Bulawayo attracted a good crowd.

That however, is not surprising given that only Highlanders matches at Barbourfields Stadium are attracting up to 7 000 fans.

Sunday’s battle of the two giants failed to live up to expectations both on the field of play and in the stands.

Asked to comment on the attendance, Baltemar Brito said:

“Of course we expected more people. We cannot run away from that question.

“We did not have many fans at the stadium on Sunday. What is the main reason for that happening?

“Maybe it was because the game was not that important for both sides since they are both out of the title race.

“Football is a spectacle. We the people that belong to football have this responsibility to make sure it is a spectacle. Because when you don’t give a spectacle, the attendance starts to go down.

“Fans come to the stadium and they see goalkeepers delaying the game and all these tricks of delaying the game don’t promote the spectacle.

BOSSO

“The keepers are delaying because they want to win the game but they are not respecting the spectators who have come to watch football.

“People then decide to go elsewhere because football doesn’t give what they expect in terms of emotions,” said Brito.

He said there is a need to improve the quality of football played in the country as well as improve the quality of pitches.

“For football to be exciting we need to have one standard ball as well as standard football pitches. This will help Zimbabwean football,” said Brito.

The coach has been credited with changing Highlanders’ football for the better since his arrival early this year.

Highlanders vs Bulawayo Chiefs.

He also broke Bosso’s 32-match winless jinx outside Bulawayo when his team beat Yadah 3-2 at the National Sports Stadium.

Bosso, who were reeling in the bottom half of the table in the first-half of the season, are now in top four.

Brito has managed 11 league games for Highlanders, winning five, drawing five and losing two. — @innocentskizoe